Oh, there definitely have to be some iconic chase scenes in this campaign. Farragut chase through crowded city streets, rooftop foot chase leaping from building to building, great fun!!

I'm having a blast so far, and I hope you are too. We may, depending on what you folks do, have our first combat soon. I'll post combat protocols when we get closer. I may attempt a new method I've learned from a PBP I play in, where I give folks the ACs and saves of the enemies, so that you can see for yourselves the results and include them in the narrative yourselves, giving the players a bigger role in that part of the story than just posting some dice rolls.

As we are possibly approaching our first combat situation (after 500+ posts, did you really think I meant that combat-lite when you agreed to this game;)), I'll take a moment to lay out how I like it to go.

I post Maptools maps onto the website (Battle Map folder in the library), that have labeled avatars for all combatants and co-ordinates. I roll initiative for everybody and post the ordered list. I end each combat post of mine with a list of the next three combatants, but am not a stickler for people posting in order (I resolve actions in initiative order, however, so feel free to post if-then or a,b,c scenarios).

I ask everybody to use the following format for making combat posts. I do this for two reasons: to differentiate the combat-action posts from other posts you might make, and so that pre-posted actions don't influence other people.

ROUND 1:

Actions, attack rolls, damage rolls, etc.
Description of the results of your actions, cinematic narratives, etc. I'll give you the ACs, saving throws, and hps of your adversaries, so you can resolve your own actions. I trust you all not to meta-game, although your characters are probably able to make ingame decisions based on hit point counts (1/69 hp enemies are probably looking really beat up, after all).

If you don't post within 24 hours of your last post, I may do an action for you. I will never bot your character to do something harmful, wasteful, or counter-productive, and no PCs will be killed as a result of botting.

I enjoy pitting the party against a smaller number of APL+2 or +3 encounters, rather than a constant stream of APL ones (as you've seen). I find this works better for PbP games, and makes the combats more worthwhile. Still, I recommend against "novaing", and don't assume all combats can be won. Some DMs find that pitting the party against an impossible foe just so that they get beat up is too much like railroading, or counter-intuitive to this being a game the players are supposed to win, but I find a good beating can drive up the dramatic tensions and really invest the players in wanting to seriously hurt their enemies. Character death is no fun, however, and so it would have to be a pretty big battle (or pretty dumb move by the player) for me to allow that. I don't consider characters as throw-away props, especially not ones as interesting and well-designed as these.

That's about all for now (that went on much longer than I thought). I'm excited to start this first combat (possibly).

When you three get a moment or two, could you please fill in some background details for your characters? I'd like to be able to incorporate the histories of the PCs into future cases.

Calatin:

Calatin, can you give me details about his time at the Stone of the Seers, maybe with a couple NPC ideas? Optionally, you can incorporate the following two NPCs which I have already created for a future case. Also, a little bit of his background before his time at the Stone (place of origin, family, etc.).

Headmaster Finandar Oros is a portly, elderly gentlemen of obvious means, with meticulously-groomed clothes, yet wild, unkempt hair. His beard could rival any dwarf’s, as could his stature, making him seem almost half-gnome. He squints through a pair of pince-nez.
Oros is a cheerful sort on the outside, but very secretive and tight-fisted about goings-on within the Stone of Seers. His own personal bias causes him to look on fellow wizards with favour, non-wizards neutrally, and ‘fake’ wizards (bards, alchemists, sorcerers, summoners, witches) with distaste.

Professor Erem Tenadi: Attired in a crisp black academic gown, the middle-aged man’s smooth face is devoid of any signs of wrinkle or laugh line. His eyes stare imperiously over his hooked beak of a nose and his mouth is drawn in a thin, tight line. He holds himself with a tall and regal bearing, full of self-confidence and assurance, which is only spoiled a little by his constant nervous fingering of the plain gold amulet he wears around his neck.
A gruff and serious scholar, a professor of divination magic, he is well-known among students and staff for being impartial and fair, rigidly following the letter of school rules to the utmost. His overweight cat familiar Scratch is the complete opposite, and a favourite among the students of the Stone.

Markiv:

Mainly looking for some idea of who he was before he joined with his eidolon. I get the impression that the eidolon is a recent development in his life. What did he do before? Did he have a trade of some kind?

Awgin:

I can appreciate the avant garde and poetic nature of his character background, but some details would help. I gather that he is a recent arrival in Magnimar, which is fine, but I would love to use something from his past eventually. Something about his people would be good, as would some stuff about his former "employer" who used him as a ring fighter.

From the very start of Calatin's academic career, he was notable for two things, an insatiable thirst for knowledge and an equally hearty appetite, especially for anything involving pastry or baking. He studied assiduously, absorbing information like a sponge, but proved less adept at the actual practise of magic, taking quite a while to master the basics of casting... and never really getting the hang of much of the offensive, combat stuff that many wizards revel in. Hence his gravitation towards a specialisation in divination was almost inevitable.

Of the two NPCs you mention, Headmaster Oros always had a soft spot for the portly student, whilst Professor Tenadi didn't really care for him, yet had to respect his ability when it came to using both magic and information gathering in combination when practising divination. His innate sense of fairness meant that he rarely showed his dislike for Calatin - it was a personal thing, you know how some people just don't care for a given individual without knowing just why.

During his studies, Calatin had one particular friend amonst the students, a half-elf called Erin who specialised in illusion magic. A tall, bone-thin fellow with blond hair, Erin also enjoyed baked goods, preferring quality over the quantity that Calatin consumed! After graduation, he took off on a quest to 'discover his roots' by exploring his elven heritage, but given his fondness for elegant living, it's likely he'll be back to urban civilisation 'ere long.

Oh yes, family background. Calatin's father was a scribe and librarian called Wendl. His mother was a renowned baker whose cakes were very popular with folks far beyond the village in which they'd settled when Wendl was hired by the lord of the local manor as secretary and to catalogue and maintain an extensive collection of rare books that had been in the family for generations. Said lord is responsible for sponsoring Calatin's studies, although he passed on before Calatin graduated. The lord's heir was not interested in books or wizards, perferring the thrill of the chase, and directed Wendl to arrange for the sale of his father's library.

In case it wasn't clear, the words MAP UPDATED in the combat posts are linked to the actual maps to which they refer. You have to be signed into the same email address you all gave me to be connected to the campaign website. If that's problematic, I can find an alternate means of posting the combat maps.

Quite an inspired choice of image, Nazard. Looks pretty much like the mental picture I have of Calatin.

Who, incidentally, first came to life as an AD&D 2e character, an Academician wizard. Later he appeared in print, in some of the flavour text in Way of the Witch, which is when he acquired the last name of ab'Halla.

And now I am having great fun playing his Pathfinder incarnation in your game. Thank you for having him!

I enjoy pitting the party against a smaller number of APL+2 or +3 encounters, rather than a constant stream of APL ones (as you've seen). I find this works better for PbP games, and makes the combats more worthwhile. Still, I recommend against "novaing", and don't assume all combats can be won. Some DMs find that pitting the party against an impossible foe just so that they get beat up is too much like railroading, or counter-intuitive to this being a game the players are supposed to win, but I find a good beating can drive up the dramatic tensions and really invest the players in wanting to seriously hurt their enemies. Character death is no fun, however, and so it would have to be a pretty big battle (or pretty dumb move by the player) for me to allow that. I don't consider characters as throw-away props, especially not ones as interesting and well-designed as these....

Well you certainly weren't lying there.

I gambled that I could take stone man #2 out and lost. I like Heward, but I like PC mortality too. It gives the game an edge. So if Heward buys the farm, I'm OK with that. This morning I started rolling around replacement PC ideas and I think I've got one that will work if it's needed. The captain might not like it though....

Out of character, it occurs to me that our Summoner might still be in the building somehow and using the elementals to draw us to the front of the shop so he can escape out the back door unaccosted. Auriel's in no frame of mind to be that cold and calculating right now, though. Maybe if it was someone else's neighborhood about to be decimated from above....

I'm hoping that Calatin will have a brilliant idea. Holding up a house is a Superman kind of thing. Do we even have rope?

Calatin left the doorway to come downstairs. The perp could have slipped out then. I don't think he'd try to bluff this by summoning new elementals to push the house over while he was still inside.

The casters should have a go at estimating the perp's power (level) Without thinking at all, I'm guessing at least third. He's summoned at least 5, probably 6, b&$!+ing elementals and his eidolon hits harder than anything first level has a right to.

Nazard, stop me if I go to far on this route.

I think someone chasing, but not engaging the snake is a good idea. Maybe it'll lead us to the perp's lair. Calatin's bird seems a great candidate. Auriel would have been my next choice, but she's in no shape for it now. Awgin may as well go for it if Dax wants. Or Markiv if he ditches the armor-eidolon.

Yeah, to be able to summon elementals, he has to have summon monster II, which is third level. Auriel is beyond all Golarion-ly limitations now, so she can know that. ;) (Or she just asked someone she's standing in line with in the Boneyard.)

Summoners are insanely powerful at low-level. The power level might even out a bit at higher levels -- I've never actually seen one in play then -- but every time I've seen a summoner PC in a 1st-level group, he's done the majority of the work while taking the least damage. Just witness Scipion's character: he could dump all his physical stats to get the boost to mental stats with the age boost and then just use his eidolon's physical stats. It works out to a 52-point-buy. :P

Yeah, to be able to summon elementals, he has to have summon monster II, which is third level. Auriel is beyond all Golarion-ly limitations now, so she can know that. ;) (Or she just asked someone she's standing in line with in the Boneyard.)

Summoners are insanely powerful at low-level. The power level might even out a bit at higher levels -- I've never actually seen one in play then -- but every time I've seen a summoner PC in a 1st-level group, he's done the majority of the work while taking the least damage. Just witness Scipion's character: he could dump all his physical stats to get the boost to mental stats with the age boost and then just use his eidolon's physical stats. It works out to a 52-point-buy. :P

Ummm...Auriel isn't actually dead, by the way. There's always a danger with the PC held hostage at knife point that maybe the other PCs will just say oh well and try to attack. It's kind of like playing meta-game chicken with the GM, in a way. But whatever the result, I'm not killing people's hard created characters because of something somebody else did.

Hopefully, people were not banking on that when they decided to engage the snake when it had Auriel.

Ummm...Auriel isn't actually dead, by the way. There's always a danger with the PC held hostage at knife point that maybe the other PCs will just say oh well and try to attack. It's kind of like playing meta-game chicken with the GM, in a way. But whatever the result, I'm not killing people's hard created characters because of something somebody else did.

Hopefully, people were not banking on that when they decided to engage the snake when it had Auriel.

No, not banking on it. Laya simply couldn't see any other alternative. Giving into its demands wouldn't have solved the situation either. Indeed, from Laya's perspective it would have made things worse. That said, in my experience, PCs rarely give in to those kind of demands. :)

At any rate, Laya did stabilize Auriel as soon as she could and then used some healing. I don't know if it was enough to bring her back to positive hit points, but she is definitely alive. :)

Ummm...Auriel isn't actually dead, by the way. There's always a danger with the PC held hostage at knife point that maybe the other PCs will just say oh well and try to attack. It's kind of like playing meta-game chicken with the GM, in a way. But whatever the result, I'm not killing people's hard created characters because of something somebody else did.

Hopefully, people were not banking on that when they decided to engage the snake when it had Auriel.

No, not banking on it. Laya simply couldn't see any other alternative. Giving into its demands wouldn't have solved the situation either. Indeed, from Laya's perspective it would have made things worse. That said, in my experience, PCs rarely give in to those kind of demands. :)

Pssh, Auriel totally would have. Even if it hadn't had a hostage. She's all about saving Lowcleft. Besides which, it didn't seem like we'd be giving up anything; we didn't actually have any bargaining chips. Baldy already has the enjoiner fragment; we have no idea where he is; and killing the eidolon accomplishes nothing. It was either the Bad Guy gets away with the McGuffin or the Bad Guy gets away with the McGuffin and innocent people die. Seems like a no-brainer to her.

Navior wrote:

At any rate, Laya did stabilize Auriel as soon as she could and then used some healing. I don't know if it was enough to bring her back to positive hit points, but she is definitely alive. :)

Meh, it could totally have coup de graced her for double-digits worth of damage. All the stabilization in the world doesn't help when you're a flesh sack of crushed bones and organs. It's probably just as well she was unconscious during the ultimatum, however; she'd never forgive the rest of the group for not doing anything they had to to save Lowcleft, let alone her.

I can say that the eidolon was just providing a get away for his master, and had no intention of leading you anywhere useful. In fact, if you had continued to follow it, it would have led you on a merry goose chase in completely the wrong direction.

If you're discussing ways of narrowing down the bad guy's power level, Markiv can tell you a lot. Like the only way he could summon three elementals in one spot would be to either use SMII (the spell) three times, or use a SMIII SLA and get lucky with the 1d3 roll. Or, the even scarier prospect that he used a SMIV SLA and get not so lucky with the 1d4+1 roll.

These eidolons can get ridiculously scary, even at low levels. I can understand why people have so much trouble with the summoner class. Usually, people just make them wrong, but I triple checked the snake and he's just scary, not wrong.

I figured the eidolon might try to lead us away, that's why Calatin's familiar or Auriel (had she been healthy) would have been my first choices to follow it. They have the best chance of blending with the scenery.

It's probably just as well she was unconscious during the ultimatum, however; she'd never forgive the rest of the group for not doing anything they had to to save Lowcleft, let alone her.

Except Laya did what she did specifically to save Lowcleft. Thus her line that Auriel is only one person. She saw no indication whatsoever that giving into the snake's demands would do anything to stop the building falling. I have a suspicion she'll have a hard time convincing Auriel of that if she finds out though. :)

Heward and Laya clear the corner of the building to see Auriel lying on the cobblestones, a 5-foot long snake with electricity dancing between its fangs has its body wrapped around the young woman. The snake looks at Heward, and says, "Hold, Watchmen! The girl livessss, and my masssster wishessss her no perssssonal ill will. I can kill her in an inssstant if you try anything, however. My massster merely wishesss to flee with hissss prize. If you allow him to esssscape, I will releassse the girl and call off the elementalssss. You may choosssse, Watchmen. Will her death be on your handssss?"

See, you assume it's the classic Green Goblin choice: the girl or the innocent bystanders. Only what the snake actually offered was the lives of the girl and the innocent bystanders, in exchange for not attacking. Whether or not he was lying is undetermined, though.

It only offered to call off the elementals, but since their work was already done, that didn't seem much of an offer. The shop was on the way over the cliff anyway. At least, that was my perspective (and Laya's as a result). I may have been completely wrong about that, but the elementals stopped right after that anyway and it didn't stop the shop's progression over the cliff. The supports were already gone, and it was already starting to collapse. Maybe they would have pulled the shop back into place if Laya had complied, but the snake didn't give any indication that it would have the elementals do that. So Laya made the decision to threaten the snake back. It's starting to look like that was the completely wrong decision to make, but that was the justification for it, at any rate. If people in Lowcleft die because of her actions, she will hold herself responsible and accept whatever punishment is brought against her.

Standard SWAT tactics: you go for the perp even if he has a hostage - especially if it's a fellow officer rather than a civilian.

Unfortunately I ran out of skill points before I could get to Knowledge: Engineering :( Some kind of props would be indicated, though. Alas the open/close cantrip doesn't work if a door is locked or barred, so brute force is indicated.

Hmm. Maybe we need to requisition a 'door knocker' or Hooligan tool...

Not to be too hasty about it, but Scipion hasn't been anywhere on the boards that I can tell since the end of July. Are we going to try to replace Markiv or go on with five? In general, I think 5 PCs is plenty, but we're obviously a bit outmatched here, considering the fiasco our stake-out turned into.

Not to be too hasty about it, but Scipion hasn't been anywhere on the boards that I can tell since the end of July. Are we going to try to replace Markiv or go on with five? In general, I think 5 PCs is plenty, but we're obviously a bit outmatched here, considering the fiasco our stake-out turned into.

I sent him an e-mail, and haven't gotten a response yet. You do need a sixth person in this game, just because of the power level of some of the opponents, and also because the sixth person helps with investigation division, which actually keeps the game moving more smoothly. I'll continue to GMNPC Markiv until the end of this case, and if Scipion hasn't returned by then, we'll replace him.

Ah, classic. The by-the-book guardsman is sick of the maverick ways of his new squad; Heward and Awgin are at each other's throats; and Auriel is off wandering the streets in an existential crisis. Good times.

Last month, James Jacobs had posted his home-brewed leveling system whereby you go up in quarters. Each time you get a bump you can choose whether to raise your BAB and hps, saves, skills and feats, or class abilities for your next class (rather than doing it all at once).

One of my PBP games decided to try this approach, and while I was reluctant at first, I don't mind it. I would never want to use it for a live game, but in a PBP, where it cam literally be months between level raises, it's nice to get these intermediate boosts.

My concern is that it actually creates a bit more work: namely, keeping track of which bumps you've already received, especially if you get to choose each time rather than following a specified order. In a pbp, it could be easy to forget what you changed last time.

It also creates confusion with effects related to level. Let's say a 1st-level wizard receives her first "bump" and she chooses to increase class abilities. She now has a caster level of 2 and casts spells as a 2nd-level wizard, but is still 1st level for everything else, including how spells affect her. The player needs to keep track of this, and really, there's enough to keep track of in the game as it is without throwing more things out there! :)

Or what happens with prerequisites for feats? If you decide to improve your skills and feats before raising your BAB, can you take a feat that has a BAB prerequisite that you would normally meet at the next level, but you don't yet meet because you haven't raised your BAB yet?

Note: I haven't actually read the rules for this levelling system, so these things may well be accounted for. Even so, I see a lot of potential for confusion.

Sounds like a lot of work. In my pbp games, I just announce 'OK, level up' at appropriate points as the adventure progresses (I'm running Paizo Adventure Paths, so it's quite easy to pick out suitable points).

I have secured the interest of ProfPotts, another player from fair Britain, to replace Markiv's player. I haven't decided yet whether to bring him in after this case is concluded or squeeze him in earlier (as I believe I've seen an opportunity). He's another veteran of the gray-haired RPers brigade, so brings lots of experience to the 'table'.

@Auriel: Is Auriel interested in latching onto this little altercation down in Lowcleft? If not, about what time would she be returning to HQ?

@Auriel: Is Auriel interested in latching onto this little altercation down in Lowcleft? If not, about what time would she be returning to HQ?

Sorry, Nazard, I've been just catching brief windows of time to make posts in yesterday and today and haven't had a chance to sit down and do the longer, more thoughtful post the situation warrants in this game. I hope to have some free time this evening in a few hours and will make it a top priority.

@Auriel: Is Auriel interested in latching onto this little altercation down in Lowcleft? If not, about what time would she be returning to HQ?

Sorry, Nazard, I've been just catching brief windows of time to make posts in yesterday and today and haven't had a chance to sit down and do the longer, more thoughtful post the situation warrants in this game. I hope to have some free time this evening in a few hours and will make it a top priority.

Not a problem. I guess I was just worried that Auriel's disenchantment had rubbed off on her player. Take your time, as I'm waiting to hear back from ProfPotts on whether or not we'll be adding him in before the trip to Lord Millis. I may pause things for a couple days to give him a chance to whip his character together.

ProfPotts here, just posting for the dot and to say 'hi' (which I did... just now...).

Thanks again to Nazard for thinking of me for the game! I've managed to get through about half the in-character posts so far (all brilliant stuff!), and am working on catching up with the rest, so please be gentle if I post anything idiotic in the meantime... ;)

BTW: I was thinking of the Shoanti guy from p.18 of The Inner Sea World Guide (and other places) when I whipped up Garidan here... but it turns out he's not an available avatar... turns out there aren't any Shoanti-looking guys as avatars really (tattooed women, and tattooed dwarves... but no human guys...) so that's why you've got 'generic bald dude' here for his avatar...

It seems like she only ever puts any effort into her Bluffs when they're self-serving. I'm thinking she needs some kind of spiritual awakening as a result of her near-death experience. Shelyn's a possibility, but the way things are going, Calistria really has the upper hand in the war for her soul.